Unleashed Winery [August 2023]

Well, it’s about time for my annual summer winery fix in the Kalispell, Montana area while visiting our friends, the Flying Flanagans, again!! There is a new twist this summer since my very good friend Katie Gordy from Delaware is flying out to meet up for this trip!! Katie, Deb, and I were driving on our way to Whitefish for a day of exploring and shopping when we rode by the Unleashed: A Winery building. Being the incredibly fun, spontaneous winos that we are, we added it to our list of things to do for the day and stopped in as we were making our way out of town!! 

I know I don’t have to tell you what an animal lover I am, and this place exceeded every expectation I had!! “Unleash, unwind, taste… repeat” was on the wall when we walked into the beautifully renovated main tasting room. The old historical building used to be a cabinet warehouse that survived a fire, and the burned wooden beams were still visible to help keep those historical touches. There was a long bar as well as several high tops, [where we sat] and a cool looking water vapor fireplace along one wall. Another space in the back was available for private events.

Nicole Erickson opened Unleashed at the beginning of 2020. Nicole has run multiple businesses in the past, but Unleashed is her first winery. She has worked with dogs her whole life as an animal care technician. She actually planned to eventually go into animal medicine, but as she did more traveling, she began to develop a passion for wine. It was hard to leave her love of dogs behind during the transition, as evidenced by the name of her winery and the wine bottle labels. “Dogs are playful and have the attitude of enjoying everything in life.”

All of the labels [a couple can be seen below] are of “unleashed” dogs enjoying the Flathead Valley's great outdoors. One even has a dog on the Big Mountain slopes!! Hahaha!! Nicole grew up in Montana, originally from Helena, and has visited Whitefish many summers to see her grandparents. Her dream was to open a winery in a small Montana town, and she landed on a ski town to boot!! She thought, how many ski towns can say they have a winery!? She decided to move to Whitefish and create this special space where people could unleash and enjoy life while drinking wine.

Nicole imports her "grape juice" from California’s Central Coast. Yes, I said grape juice, not grapes. I thought this was interesting, so I looked into it a little bit. Apparently, jumping ahead and getting the juice can be more convenient and cost-effective. There is much less labor involved, and you save time on the crushing and pressing process. This method is ideal for crisp white wines and eliminates transit degradation of the whole fruit. [a combination of strict temperature control, packaging, and oxidation prevention] The fermentation in stainless steel barrels, bottling, corking, and labeling process are all still done on site at Unleashed. 

Nicole, with her winemaker and close friend Jaren, created a list of 12 Unleashed wines. They include reds, whites, specialty wines, and a port wine. She wanted the brand to be fun, to draw people in... people who may not be big winos like I am!! Haha!! I think she succeeded in her goal. Check out the fun service for the different wine flights offered below. I also remember we had a nice charcuterie board with the most amazing mango cheese ever!! I hate to end on a sad note, but Unleashed: A Winery closed its doors in May of 2024. Nicole loved living out her dream in her home state, but after four years, she and Jaren have decided to pursue new and different adventures.

I don't know if y’all know the song by Sammy Kershaw that goes, “We're sure enough gettin' our feet wet, mama, but we didn't go near the water…” but it came to mind when I thought about Wine with Wixy next week’s visit to Waters Edge Winery & Bistro!!

Cheers to you my wine loving friends, and TTFN!!